January 2011

01/31/2011

This one seems particularly appropriate given the weather we're having. Bannerman grew up on Auburn Avenue in Buffalo, and attended Nardin Academy and Buffalo Seminary. You can see more of her cartoons by visiting thesixchix.com or click here. You can subscribe to Six Chix and other King Features Syndicate cartoons at http://dailyink.com/en-us/ or click here. For 18 bucks, you get thousands of yucks.

01/30/2011

Buffalo's great documentary photographer passed away this month. I had never heard of him until I saw his work at the Burchfield Penny Art Center. It was amazing. Rogovin refused to answer the questions of the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1957. "Rogovin Named as Top Red in Buffalo" was the headline in the Buffalo News. His optometry practice suffered, so he turned to photography in his spare time. Today Rogovin's art is in the permanent collections of museums all over the world, and the Library of Congress has become the permanent repository his negatives, contact sheets and 1,300 prints. To see more of his photos go to www.miltonrogovin.com/ or click here.

"Woman With Greens," from the East Side photo series, 1961-1963, Milton Rogovin

01/29/2011

In the middle, Editha Koenig, married Von Moers; left, Käthe Koenig, married Riefenstahl; and right, the youngest, by grandmother Hildegard Koenig Paul, born November 20, 1899. Hildegard became a journalist and I have her old Erika typewriter. Below is an audio essay I wrote about it.

01/26/2011

In my audio essay, To the Class of 2010, from the Class of 1912, I mention my grandfather's great friend and classmate Jake Sicherman, and that the women of Jake's class gave his daughter Barbara something to write about. Barbara is William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of American Institutions and Values, Emerita, at Trinity College, and one of the country's premier historians of women's history and medical history. (She's also a lifelong friend of my dad and our family.) Barbara's latest book is a work of great scholarship and still a page turner, describing how in the Gilded Age "adolescent reading was truly transformative in constructing female identity, stirring imaginations, and fostering ambition." I think Oprah and Oprah Book Club members would love this book. Sicherman writes: 'Where (Jane) Addams grew up in privilege, Winfrey came from a background of poverty, neglect and abuse and found in books "an open door to dwell in possibility." She echoes the stories of Jewish immigrants a century earlier when she observes, "Getting my library card was like citizenship, it was like American citizenship."' You will find the book at Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Barbara-Sicherman/e/B001H6SA4Y, or click here.

01/25/2011

At top, my dad's kindergarten report card from the School of Practice. "Sometimes he assumes the role of a goat or troll in a story being played." I love that detail. Buffalo State's School of Practice was established as a place for young teachers to learn and practice the latest progressive educational techniques. My brother Chris and I went to the 1960's version, The Children's Cooperative Nursery School, run by U.B.'s School of Education. I love the writing in this letter by Ms. Carnes, and her wonderful signature in blue pen.

01/24/2011

The U.B. Roundtable ran on TV and radio and was moderated by my dad. It was kinda like WebMD before the internet. Dad still plays golf with Ed Marine. Dr. Goldstein passed away, and in 1980 Dr. Holland moved with her husband to Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York to practice.

01/23/2011

Grady Kerr, the editor of Preservation, the Official Publication of the Barbershop Harmony Society's Historical Archives, was nice enough to give my essay about the Buffalo Bills a plug in the latest issue of the magazine. Grady is an amazing historian (and does terrific audio interviews), and I am delighted that he liked the story. All the credit goes to Dick Grapes. Grady is also a member of the Vocal Majority, one of the country's premier choruses, 11-time International Champions. For access to the entire magazine go here: http://www.barbershop.org/preservation-publication.html